Bryson DeChambeau won his second U.S. Open on Sunday, and he had some classy remarks about the runner-up after the final round concluded.
DeChambeau finished 6-under at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, which was one shot better than Rory McIlroy. The result almost certainly would have been different if McIlroy didn’t miss two short putts down the stretch to blow a lead.
During his Sunday post-tournament press conference, DeChambeau was asked if he feels empathy for McIlroy over the way things ended. DeChambeau responded with high praise for the four-time major champion.
“Yeah, Rory’s one of the best to ever play. Being able to fight against a great like that is pretty special,” DeChambeau told reporters. “For him to miss that putt, I’d never wish that on anybody. It just happened to play out that way. He’ll win multiple more major championships, there’s no doubt. I think that fire in him is gonna continue to grow and I have nothing but respect for how he plays the game of golf.
“To be honest, when he was climbing up the leaderboard and he was two ahead, I was like, ‘Uh oh, uh oh.’ But, luckily, things went my way today.”
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McIlroy was so frustrated over the way he choked that he refused to speak with the media afterward. He declined an interview with NBC and was seen leaving Pinehurst in hasty fashion.
DeChambeau has two major wins after his victory on Sunday and win at Winged Foot in the 2020 U.S. Open. The 30-year-old also finished runner-up at the PGA Championship last month.
